New Zealand's rare species of wading kaki bird sees 30 percent uptick in population

New Zealand’s Department of Conservation has announced that one of the rarest species of wading bird -- the kaki or black stilt, has seen an encouraging 30 percent rise in its population. The country has been trying for decades to prevent the extinction of the kaki bird and as per reports, now there are as many 169 birds of endangered species in New Zealand.

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Hope for the species

According to reports, the Kaki Recovery program was launched by New Zealand’s Department of Conservation almost 40 years ago. Since its launch, the program has slowly been working towards conserving and rebuilding the dwindling population of the rare species. These birds reportedly only breed in New Zealand’s Mackenzie Basin and South Island.

New Zealand’s Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage informed the local media that due to the efforts of the captive breeding program as well as the support the department received from its partner organisations, there are 40 more adult kaki’s living and thriving in the wild than at this time last year.

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According to reports, the International NGO Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC) is one of the partner organisations working with New Zealand’s conservation department and has helped the government's conservation efforts by setting up brooder rooms where chicks can be hand-reared, as well as an aviary for adolescent kaki birds.

Kakis are small all black birds with long red limbs. These features set them apart from other species found in New Zealand and make these birds extremely unique. Kakis were fairly common in New Zealand decades ago but their populates have withered due to loss of habitat and the introduction of non-native predators like cats and ferrets.

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(Image Credit Twitter/@LionelGodwit)